Behind the scenes at the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts ’ 194th Annual Exhibition, bubble wrap abounds. There are Post-its on walls, hand drills and screwdrivers on plinths and floors, and the occasional red or green laser beams cutting the air. Technicians across the galleries at the RHA’s home, on Ely Place in Dublin , are working on the mammoth task of keeping everything more or less straight.

And there is art everywhere. Good art, brilliant art, art that is attractive and beautiful, shocking and astonishing, and the occasional appearance of one or two bits that are misses rather than hits: such are the pleasures of the Annual Exhibition. The whole thing is led by artists.

Since 2020, Donald Teskey has done the layout of the wall-based work, taking over from the late Michael Cullen; Vera Klute looks after the sculptures. Klute’s own work includes a portrait of the Supreme Court justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan; and Swirl, a remarkable tangle of trees in vivid hues of oil on linen. The whole business of layout and installation takes about three weeks, and it is quite a job.

From the 5,313 works submitted, 515 are on show. These include pieces by RHA members plus 27 invited artists, so there is a huge amount to take in. Members get to include up to six pieces (“and some of them do,” someone whispers disapprovingly).

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